Our Country - India

Our country is the most diverse country in the world whether in terms of its culture and heritage or geographical features. Here in this article, you will get a chance to know your country India. This article will help the students of Class 6 and higher classes to get a brief understanding about our country. Read the notes and observe the maps and diagrams properly to retain the information.

Know Your Country India

To know about our country you need to check the world map and map of India (which are given below). These maps will help you to observe where our country lies. Once you know about its location, then you can predict its temperature, rainfall, vegetation, crops, and a lot of things. The important concepts and information about our country are written below:

Location

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From the maps given above, it can be observed that India has its place in the Northern-Eastern Hemisphere of the globe. The tropic of cancer which lies at 23 1/2° N passes through the country through its center and the standard meridian which is 82°30' E of the country passes through Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh. From the map, it can be seen that it lies in the Asia continent and that too in South-Asia.

Climate

From the map, you must have observed that the tropic of cancer passes through India. Thus, it is a tropical country. The climate of the country is not the same at all places and depends upon the topography and the location of the region. The monsoon is a special feature of India’s climate.

Neighbourhood

India is a South Asian country and has a number of neighbouring countries that are connected with India through land or water. Countries near India are also shown on the map below.

Names of Countries that Shared Maritime Border With India:

• Bangladesh

• Bhutan

• China

• Nepal

• Pakistan

• Afghanistan

• Myanmar

• Sri Lanka

Name of Countries that Shared Maritime Border With India:

• Bangladesh

• Indonesia

• Myanmar

• Pakistan

• Sri Lanka

• Maldives

• Thailand

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Administration

India is divided into various states and union territories for administrative purposes. Our country was reorganized in 1956 as per the State Reorganization Act and then the country was divided into 14 states and 6 union territories. This division was done on the basis of language. After that, a lot of States and Union territories have been formed. The number of states and union territories is not fixed and keeps on changing as per the requirement of the country. States and UTs can be formed or demolished or merged etc. as per Part 1 of the Constitution of India. The number of States and UTs in different years is shown in the table below:

So, How many states are there in our country right now? (as of 2021)

After the Jammu and Kashmir reorganization Act, 2019, India has 28 states (excluding Jammu and Kashmir).

Number of Union Territories

After Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019 and Dadar and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Act, 2020, India has 9 Union Territories (as of 2021).

Physical Division of India

India is gifted with a number of physical features like mountains, plateaus, plains, etc. The physical features of India are listed below and can also be seen on the map:

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Himalayas

These mountains are called young fold mountains which lie in the north. These can be divided into the Himalayas, the trans-Himalayas, and the Purvanchal. The Himalayas are further divided into three parts ie. the Great Himalayas or Himadri, the Lesser Himalayas or Himachal and the outer Himalayas and Shiwalik. Trans Himalayas include the Karakoram range, the Zaskar and Ladakh ranges and these lie North of the Himalayas whereas the Purvanchal mountains lie in the North-Eastern side of the country.

Great Indian Desert

It lies in the western side of the country and the Aravalli Hills called the Thar Desert which is the 9th largest desert in the world. It is the Aravalli Hills which are old fold mountains that save the country from the desert sand and arid region.

Northern Plains

These plains are formed because of the sediments brought by the major rivers like Indus, Ganga, Brahmaputra, and their tributaries. These plains are the most fertile land in the country and also densely populated. These can be divided into four parts i.e. Bhabar, Terai, Bhangar and Khadar. 

Deccan Plateau

It is a part of the peninsular plateau of India and the black soil found here is called the Deccan Trap which is formed because of volcanic eruptions. This plateau can be further divided into the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats.

Coastal Plains

It runs along the coastal regions of the peninsular plateau and it can also be divided into two parts i.e the eastern coastal plains which run along the Bay of Bengal and the western coastal plains which run along the Arabian Sea.

Islands

Our country has a group of islands as well which are a great source of tourism. There lie 204 islands on the eastern side in the Bay of Bengal called the Andaman and Nicobar Islands which is also a Union Territory and 43 groups of islands are situated on the western side in the Arabian Sea called Lakshadweep Islands which is also a Union Territory of India.

Did You Know?

India is called the land of rivers because of the presence of a number of rivers here and in terms of the geographical area it is the seventh-largest country in the world and the second country in terms of population.